The Merry Wedding - 1
It felt strange. Maybe it was because I was wearing a tuxedo for the first time in my life instead of my usual uniform, but it felt as if my body had been wrapped in something like a swaddling cloth.
"How does it feel? Any discomfort when you move?"
"It's good. Feels just like the clothes I always wear."
Even so, I gave the imperial tailor a positive answer. The outfit only felt awkward because it was unfamiliar; being custom-made for me, there was nothing uncomfortable about it.
In truth, if I admitted any discomfort, he would probably start over on the spot, and that thought was a little frightening. Given the skill and passion I had seen from him so far, he was more than capable of it.
"Isn't it? Even if it's only for a short while, this is the outfit for the greatest celebration of a lifetime. We can't have anything uncomfortable about it."
Fortunately my answer seemed to satisfy him; the tailor nodded repeatedly.
"Especially since Your Excellency will have to wear it at least five more times. I put extra care into it."
"Oh dear. Then it almost feels wrong to pay for only one suit."
"Heh heh. The imperial household is covering the cost, so don't worry."
The tailor laughed behind his hand and then turned his gaze to Mar. With no issues remaining for the groom, he clearly intended to focus on the true star of the day—the bride.
Watching him, I absently adjusted my bow tie. After years of only ever wearing neckties, a bow tie left me feeling oddly incomplete. Both were worn around the neck, but the difference in length somehow made all the difference.
Just bear with it.
I forced down the awkwardness and tried to get used to it. A professional had dressed me this way, so this had to be correct. If I carelessly said something like "I actually prefer a necktie," he might start the entire outfit over from scratch.
If awkwardness itself had been the problem, I wouldn't have put on a tuxedo in the first place.
"Chief, are you sure you're really all right? You look uncomfortable."
While I was absently fiddling with a sleeve, Eri, who had been lingering nearby, glided over and whispered.
She was sharp as always. Or had I simply failed to manage my expression?
"If I go looking for something comfortable, I'll end up right back in my uniform, and I can't get married in that."
After confirming that the tailor's attention was fully on Mar, I answered quietly. When every other piece of clothing was equal under the uniform, it was best just to wear whatever you were given. That was the path to everyone's happiness.
Besides, this was a wedding—not an official event or work. Wearing the blood-soaked uniform of the Audit Department to a place that ought to be blessed would be more than a little strange. One wrong move and the wedding venue could turn into a gathering of every restless spirit imaginable.
"That's true."
Eri nodded as if convinced by my explanation. Even in her madness-tinged mind, a wedding with the Audit Department uniform was apparently a step too far.
"At least the color is black. I can't even picture you in white, Chief."
"I couldn't yield on that either."
The one and only demand I had made while being fitted was the color. Just as Eri said, I found it hard to imagine myself in white clothes.
"And if I wore white too, it would split people's attention. If we're going to do this, the bride alone should be the one in the spotlight."
"Isn't the groom a main character at a wedding too?"
"I'm doing this six times, so I'm fine."
I'd get my share of the spotlight at least once.
When I added that, Eri's eyes went round and she started snickering. Apparently she was moved by the prospective groom's generous heart.
Whenever the tailor visited the mansion, the pattern was always the same.
"This is the final version!"
The super-tank tailor would pull aggro with a voice full of passion.
"Wow..."
Mar would be the first to get aggroed by that tank.
"Sister, hurry and try it on!"
"Yes, do. You have to put it on to check if anything looks off."
The other lovers would follow with enthusiastic reactions.
And then there was me, naturally forgotten in a corner. An extremely familiar and well-worn pattern.
"Then the young lady will need to change, so Your Excellency, please step out for a moment."
Today, however, I could not quietly hold my breath in the corner. The tailor had pointed me out precisely and issued a banishment order.
"...We're already husband and wife. Do I really need to leave—"
"Please step out."
"All right."
I nodded obediently at the firm instruction.
Come to think of it, in this room right now the tailor was the one in charge. Following the orders of the person in charge was only natural.
"Would the rest of you mind helping for a moment? It's a little inconvenient to put on alone."
"Of course we'll help with something like that."
Just before I opened the door and left, I overheard the conversation between the tailor and Trixie.
I was confident I could help perfectly well myself, but I chose not to open my mouth. I had no desire to see Mar, flushed with happiness, make a face of pure horror.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
"The fabric is the same that Marquis Iones presented as tribute to the imperial household. Since the young lady's prestige needs no outward display, rather than excessive splendor I emphasized the freshness and beauty of a new bride—"
The tailor was explaining the dress beside me, but honestly I barely heard a word. I had no spare attention for my ears when everything right in front of my eyes had completely captured my mind.
Without thinking I reached toward the full-length mirror in front of me. When my hand, gloved in the same pure white as the dress, touched the glass, the me in the mirror reached out to meet it. It felt as if two brides were pressing their hands together.
Beautiful.
Thinking that while looking in a mirror made me sound narcissistic, yet right now it was the only thought I could manage.
Truly, truly beautiful. Prettier, more lovely, more elegant than anything I had ever seen. Even standing perfectly still, she radiated dignity.
I'm going to get married wearing this.
The thought made my face slowly flush red. I would wear this dress and stand beside Karl. In the place where the Great Emperor once vowed eternal love to the first Empress, I would marry amid the blessings of every person present.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not yet ready to be with anyone."
Even with the greatest moment of my life approaching, for some strange reason the worst moment of my life rose to mind.
Three years ago, when Karl had pushed away my love. When he still could not erase the wounds in his heart, and I did not even know those wounds existed.
Back then I had cried so hard from anger and sorrow. Surrounded by my brother and sisters who tried to comfort me, I had even sobbed in front of Father.
And yet...
I carefully turned my head and looked around. Beatrix watching me with warm fondness, Luise beaming and telling me how pretty I looked, Irina smiling as she gave a small round of applause, Erzebet endlessly admiring me and giving a thumbs-up, and Penelia nodding in quiet approval.
I was no longer surrounded by family seeking to comfort me. I was receiving congratulations among a new family.
"M-Mar?"
I flinched at Beatrix's startled voice. Without my noticing, tears had begun to slide down my cheeks.
Thankfully it was not a flood, but a single drop was more than enough to ruin carefully applied makeup.
I shouldn't be doing this.
Today was a joyful day—why was I like this? The atmosphere had been so good, and now I had startled everyone.
"I-I'm f-fine..."
I managed to open my mouth, but after my eyes, my lips refused to obey me either. Even to my own ears the voice that came out did not sound fine at all.
How embarrassing. To get so emotional I started crying for no reason.
"Other brides often become emotional when the wedding is right before them as well. Shedding a few tears is nothing to be ashamed of."
Through it all, only the tailor soothed me with a perfectly calm expression.
Whether those words were the truth or a white lie meant to comfort a crybaby, I did not know—
"Mar's crying?!"
Seeing Karl suddenly throw open the door and rush in, I decided it was better to believe the former. That way he might calm down.
I had been pacing in front of the door when the word "tears" reached my ears, and I barged in without thinking. It was beast-level manners, but who in the world wouldn't panic upon hearing their bride-to-be was crying?
Still, the tailor explained they were tears of joy, and that put my mind at ease. Mar herself looked confused about why she was crying.
"...So that happened."
When I told my first father-in-law about that minor uproar, he let out a short laugh.
"Mar takes after her mother more than me. Pretending she isn't, yet being so sentimental—exactly her mother's personality."
"D-Did Mother-in-law also shed tears, sir?"
"Thanks to that I was misunderstood a great deal. The age gap in our marriage was already considerable, and for a while rumors circulated that it had been a marriage by abduction."
At the bitter note in my father-in-law's muttering, I quietly lowered my head.
Regrettable as it was, considering Father-in-law's build and impression, such a misunderstanding was not entirely strange. On top of that, as he himself said, the age difference between him and Mar's mother had been rather—
"Don't think strange thoughts and raise your head."
"Yes, sir."
I quickly composed my expression and lifted my head.
Calm down. If I showed even a hint of a smile at this timing, the chances of Father-in-law getting angry were high.
How could anyone call a duke a marriage by abduction...
I bit my lip lightly and forced my emotions down with desperate intensity.
No, but what kind of lunatic even started that rumor? One of the previous dukes? Nothing else made sense.
"Still, seeing how happily Mother-in-law lives with you, Father-in-law, I choose to take it as proof that Mar and I will live happily as well. That thought makes me glad."
"One can look at it that way, I suppose."
After erasing the words "marriage by abduction" from my head and opening my mouth with all my might, Father-in-law looked satisfied.
Separate from the absurd rumor others had spread, the two of them lived in harmony. Hearing such words from his youngest son-in-law could not have felt bad.
"Has the time already gotten this late?"
We continued chatting about various things for quite a while after that, until Father-in-law glanced toward a corner and muttered softly.
"I'll end the call here. We can talk in more detail next time in the Imperial Capital."
"Already? Mar is still wearing the dress. How about seeing her before you disconnect?"
"...It's fine. I'll see her at the wedding anyway."
For the briefest moment I felt him hesitate. Even so I did not press the invitation again. When a warrior had made a firm decision, interfering with it was no way for a fellow warrior to behave.
"Ah, come to think of it."
Just as he was about to cut the connection, Father-in-law spoke again.
"The Wise Duke will be coming to the Imperial Capital soon. She made quite a fuss about how she simply must attend her nephew's wedding."
"Yes, well... I'm prepared for that."
"If the Wise Duke attends the wedding, the Golden Duke will come as well."
I could not answer that immediately. It would mean every last one of the five dukes gathering for the wedding of a mere Imperial Count.
I'm going to lose my mind.
My wedding was truly going to go down in the history of the Empire.